Dating 101
by TheYoungAlcoholic
Summary: All was normal in Hikari Hanazono's life, until an unexpected request from Sui Takishima turned it all upside down. Her, teach him how to date? That's crazy talk!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Special A. Only the plot of this story.

**Dating 101**

**Chapter 1**

It was supposed to be an ordinary, Sunday morning until an unexpected visitor showed up at Hikari's doorstep. She was just about to go out for her usual morning run when she was halted by the stubborn form of Sui Takishima standing before the gate.

"Sui?" she asked, trying to remember where she had seen this scene before. Honestly, why was this kid always showing up at her house whenever he pleased? "What are you doing here?"

Sui Takishima smirked at the much taller woman with an expression that would have made his older brother proud.

"Good morning, stupid woman," he said coolly.

A loud screech came from the back of Hikari's throat. Her left eye twitched once or twice. Steam began squiggling out from her head as she turned redder and redder. She raised her right fist slowly and deadly, storing power and anger with each passing moment.

"Why you little," she spat through her teeth. "_PUNK_!" With all the rage of a massive typhoon, Hikari grabbed Sui and pulled him into a headlock, commonly seen in any pro-wrestling match.

"Wha-" was all Sui could squeak before Hikari sent them both falling backwards. Of course, she immediately stood back up unharmed, leaving only a dazed Sui lying in her yard. Hikari proudly brushed the dirt off her shoulders. This gave the poor child-

_Brat!_ Thought Hikari.

-brat sometime to wobble to his feet and shake the dizzy swirls from his eyes. The youngest Takishima threw an accusing finger in his assaulter's face once he could stand still again.

"You crazy lady!" He shouted. "You could have really hurt me just now! Do you even realize how manly you are?"

"It was that big head of yours that made the fall even harder!"

The two growled at each other in what seemed to be a glaring contest of death. Sparks of electricity flew in-between each other's eyes. A dark purple aura enveloped them.

"Why are you here?" roared Hikari.

Sui's face immediately went back to his previous cool demeanor. He crossed his arms and gazed to his side.

Without an opposite evil force pushing against her any longer, Hikari fell over.

The young boy pouted his lips slightly before returning his attention towards the fallen teenager. His face held no expression as he stared at her. The second ranked S.A. student simply blinked back as she waited for his answer.

No response.

Sui continued to stare.

Hikari blinked again.

Still, no response.

"Hurry up and answer me!" Hikari began to stomp around while pumping both of her fists in the air. Besides their looks, his personality was just like his older brother's. It was sickening.

Sui grunted before looking away again with such a bore expression. "I have a job for you."

Hikari immediately stopped moving. "Huh? A job?" She watched as the boy's face slowly began to flush a slight pink, but before she could mention anything about it, he quickly turned his back before her.

"Yes," he said in his best 'as-a-matter-of-fact' tone of voice. "A job."

This did seem to spark a bit of interest in Hikari's mind. Since her family had temporarily moved to Kyushu for her father's job, she had been left alone to take care of the house. They had left some money behind for her to use and asked that she let them know whenever she needed more. But of course, Hikari would never ask. She had troubled them enough already when she decided to stay behind. Surely, having a job would help ease her wallet and her family's concerns.

"Okay!" exclaimed Hikari. All inconveniences that started with Sui's arrival were quickly wiped away as Hikari pumped one fist in the air with all of her might. Sui quickly turned back around to stare at an image of Hikari atop of a cliff with strong waves crashing into it from the bottom. She was pointing at something far away with a look of determination all around her.

Saying that he was shocked was an understatement. He was dumbfounded.

"Alright, Little Takishima!" shouted Hikari as a fierce looking tiger suddenly appeared behind her to complete the image. It stood up and posed in a typical Superman stance. "I accept your challenge!"

"You don't even know what the job is yet and you've already accepted it," he quietly mumbled. A huge sweatdrop covered up the back of his head.

Hikari blinked as her heroic background instantly disappeared. "Oh, right." She returned her attention to the little blonde kid before her. "So, what's the job?"

Sui immediately began to flush again as he looked down. He unconsciously placed both hands behind his back and began digging the tip of his right foot into the ground. If he didn't stop, he was going to get dirt all over his brand new, expensive sneakers.

"What's wrong?" asked Hikari as she tilted her head slightly and watched his body shudder. She had never seen Sui act like this before. Even when he was first angry with Takishima, he never cowered away. If she didn't know any better she would say he was-

"Nervous?"

Sui jumped with both shock and anger. "Wh-what silly nonsense are you talking about, stupid woman! Wh-why would I be nervous?" He yelled hysterically as if she had just told him that his brother was defeated in a triathlon by a sloth.

"Hmm? Then, what is it?"

Sui gulped and took a deep breath. He clenched his eyes and fists shut as he spoke.

"I want you to teach me how to date!"

The neighborhood suddenly got very quiet. The only sound heard was a car passing by. Hikari blankly watched as Sui continued to shake with uneasiness.

Meanwhile, somewhere Akira suddenly lost the urge to knock Tadashi into oblivion after he complimented her new dress saying she resembled an ugly duckling transforming into a swan. Tadashi, in return, was so shocked by her lack of retaliation that he picked up a nearby teapot and threw it at himself. Ryuu was scratched by a mighty chipmunk after innocently handing the fuzzy creature an acorn. Jun was running away from a stampede of wild fan boys who became infatuated with him when Inner Jun unexpectedly appeared out of nowhere. Megumi started to rap.

And within his isolated hotel room somewhere in France, Kei Takishima began to laugh while snorting uncontrollably.

So, ladies and gentlemen, what do all of these things have in common?

They just don't fit.

Hikari blinked.

She blinked again.

And then, the realization finally sunk in.

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Special A.

**Dating 101**

**Chapter 2**

"What exactly is going on?" Hikari grumbled to herself.

It was still early on a Sunday morning, so people were just beginning to arrive at the local park to spend their afternoon in the company of lovely weather. The owner of the crepes stand was busy cooking up goodies for the line of children that started to form in front of it. Young couples walked around hand in hand, gossiping about their daily lives. Families were scattered about on the soft, green grass having picnics.

The atmosphere really was lively and fun, except for the uncomfortable aura that was being emitted around the bench Hikari and Sui were currently sitting on. People carefully kept their distance from the two sulking individuals. They didn't want to catch whatever negative disease they had. Oh no, it was too nice of a day to have any of that.

"Sui, why did you ask me to take on _that_ job?" Hikari asked in desperation. She was still trying to get over the shock of the younger Takishima asking her to teach him how to date. Even though she had been dating his older brother for quite some time now, she knew that she still lacked experience in that field.

Sui simply continued to stare at his feet, which were barely touching the ground. He hunched over a little farther to the point where Hikari could no longer see his face. He hadn't said a word since his request and it was really starting to bug her.

"Well, say something!" she barked and viciously began pinching both of his cheeks. Sui tried to squirm out of her grasp as onlookers watched the little brawl.

"You weren't exactly the person I had in mind either!" he managed to choke out while she painfully tugged his face as if it were a piece of laffy taffy. "But I was told to go to you anyway!"

"Huh?" Hikari immediately lost her hold and blinked in confusion. Sui tenderly rubbed both sides of his cheeks that now felt like dough.

"What are you talking about?"

Roses began to bloom around Sui as he gazed off into the distance with a beautiful poetic look.

"Originally, I was going to ask Nii-chan to teach me since he's the best at everythings" he said as stars twinkled in his eyes over the image of his dear older brother.

Hikari stiffened like a very disgusted rock. His brother complex was showing and it was embarrassing.

"But Yahiro Nii-chan told me to go to you instead."

Hikari fell over.

_Of course, Yahiro would have some part in this!_ She thought bitterly. _The Earth would practically stop spinning if he wasn't involved in something!_

"Why would you tell Yahiro about this?" she questioned in irritation. Sui simply raised his eyebrows and gave her an odd look as if she had just asked him to give her a piggy-back ride.

"Are you really that dumb? I didn't tell him. Yahiro Nii-chan knows everything."

_It's true! He probably read Sui's thoughts and came running over at the first opportunity to mess with me!_

"He said that you're completely dense when it comes to your own problems, but you never have an issue sticking your nose into other people's business." Sui said as he casually waved his hand back and forth. "That's why you'd be the best candidate to teach me. But you really suck at teaching so I don't kno- _WAH_!"

Sui found himself in a headlock once more as Hikari began to twist and dig her iron fist into the top of his head. Again, onlookers nonchalantly walked on by, passing the scene to be merely a quarrel between an older sister and her younger brother.

Sui stubbornly pushed himself out of Hikari's grasp and stumbled backwards. She was just about to start round two when she suddenly remembered something.

"Hey, Sui. Why do you want me to teach you how to date anyway?"

The little blonde gasped in surprise and quickly turned his head away. A light pink kissed the area under his eyes.

"There's this girl in my class. Her name is Kana."

Hikari bent down to listen since Sui seemed to almost be whispering.

"She's really smart. Whenever the teacher asks her a question, she always gives the right answer. It doesn't even matter what the subject is." He paused for a moment to allow a soft smile to appear. "She gets along with everyone in class and is always smiling." The pink on his cheeks turned a darker shade. "And whenever I see her smile, it makes me want to smile too."

Hikari felt her heart warm up as she listened to his confession. Despite how much of a brat he was, Sui still had a childlike innocence around him, and she always found that to be absolutely beautiful. He really was just like his brother; warm and very kind.

Her musing ended as she watched Sui's face slowly crumble into one of discomfort. His little hands rolled into fists at his side.

"I want to get her attention and figure out what she thinks about me," he confessed. "That's why…That's why…"

Sui suddenly turned back towards Hikari. She blinked in surprise at his expression. Determination was practically slapped all over his face.

"That's why I need you to teach me how to date! So, I can ask Kana how she feels about me!"

Hikari almost fainted. Out of all the things to ask for help, Sui had to ask for this? She wasn't exactly a genius at this stuff either. Sure, her and Takishima's relationship was pretty steady, but she was still learning how to be the perfect partner. Hell, she still freaked out whenever he leaned in to kiss her, and it had already been almost a year since they first started going out. She really wasn't cut out for this kind of work.

"Please, Hikari!" cried Sui as he dropped down to kneel before her. For a second, she thought he had read her mind.

"Please help me! Yahiro Nii-chan said I could rely on you!"

_Rely?_

And then something in her snapped. What was she doing? She couldn't possibly be trying to run away from this was she? She was Hikari Hanazono! She never ran away from a challenge! Once she accepted something, she would stop at nothing to complete it!

Hikari began to laugh in a slow, menacing type of way. Her body mimicked her thoughts as it shook in delight. Sui watched in fear as a fire began to rise behind her as she continued to pump herself up with her thoughts. He slowly began to inch away, wondering what exactly he had gotten himself into. He did the crab walk for a split second before he flipped over and made a mad dash back to his house.

But Hikari was much faster.

She got a hold of his ankle and pulled him back. He dug his hands into the ground in an attempt to keep himself from getting sucked into her craziness, but failed miserably. With all her might, the black haired woman held him upside with one hand, letting him dangle in the air in a glorious fashion.

"Alright, Sui!" she shouted. "I will help you accomplish your dreams!"

"Don't say it like that! And put me down you crazy lady!"

* * *

"Hey there, Kiddo! Welcome to the grand opening of Fruity Twirl! '_Orange_' you glad you came?"

Sui blankly gazed up at the giant, idiotic talking orange mascot standing outside the brand new smoothie café. It waved its arms about in a crazy like manner, and hopped back and forth on each foot. Its big, round, animated eyes and obnoxious smile really gave Sui an overwhelming urge to punch it. It was just as annoying as its lame pun.

Shortly, after Hikari and Sui had left the park, she decided that it would be best to jump right into the lessons. She still remembered a thing or two from those sappy romantic mangas that her little, playgirl neighbor and Alisa let her borrow. Of course, all of the moves she picked up were quickly defeated by Takishima whenever she tried using them on him, but maybe it would be different this time around.

Yeah, that was a fat chance.

Sui suggested (more like demanded) to go someplace where couples would usually go on dates. Since the park wasn't too far away from the shopping district, Hikari figured that would be a great place to start. After all, she and Takishima went there often on their dates.

Unfortunately, it didn't really look like Sui felt the same way.

"I ask you take me to a place where people usually have first dates, and this was the best you could think of?" he asked dryly. "You really do suck."

Hikari growled and just about to pounce on her prey when the giddy fruit uninvitingly placed itself between them, and got right up in the little blonde's face.

"Ho ho! A date, you say?" The orange was practically bouncing up and down on his bottom, talking in a sing-song voice. "Looks like someone has a thing for older women."

Sui gave him a dark look that would have made any fruit throw themselves into a blender. "How old are you? Do you even have a woman?"

The orange gasped and instantly stopped bouncing in midair. If it was physically possible for a fruit to die of embarrassment, it would have happened right then and there. Instead, the mascot opted to take its break early and drown its misery in a large helping of the day's special: Citrus Passion Suicide.

Hikari watched the retreating back of the now depressed orange disappear into the back of the café before returning her attention to her student.

"Sui, if you don't like this place, we can go somewhere else."

The boy in question sighed in defeat and shook his head. "No, it's fine." A shy aura suddenly surrounded him. "Besides, Kana likes smoothies."

"Eh? How do you know?"

Caught off guard, Sui jumped dramatically with his hair standing straight up. He tried covering himself up by awkwardly crossing his arms and looking away.

"I-I have my sources. Anyway, let's go." He demanded as he angrily stormed into the café. Hikari merely shrugged her shoulders and followed.

Since it was the grand opening, there was a lot of hustle and bustle about inside. There were people at almost every table, having friendly conversations with friends and partners. Some were even standing by the door to just pick up. Aside from the chatter and clanging of silverware, the whirling sound from the blenders hovered in the air. Waitresses pranced around from table to table, getting and delivering orders. It seemed that the café offered other small items such as salads and pastries alongside their smoothies.

Hikari managed to spot an open table in the middle of the crowd. She and her companion quickly took a seat before anyone else could get to it. Once she sat down, she allowed herself to survey the area.

The café really was something. Cute designs of fruits aligned the walls. The sweet and sour smell of citrus filled the air. The place just had a lovely tropical glow around it. Everything was just so-

"Kawaii!" Hikari shrilled with joy.

"Get a hold of yourself." Sui grumbled from his seat across from her. "It's just a smoothie shop."

"Hello," came a soft voice. Hikari was pulled out of her extravagant musings as a waitress came to stop at their table. She wore a soft orange blouse with a matching skirt. A lei of tropical flowers hung loosely around her neck. "Welcome to our grand opening! Is there anything I can get for you two?"

Hikari sheepishly grinned. She was so busy admiring the place that she hadn't even bothered to look over the menu yet.

"Two mango-pineapple smoothies," said Sui, nonchalantly. Hikari was taken back by surprise.

_How did he know?_ She thought, but before she could ask any further the waitress clapped her hands together in delight.

"Oh, my!" she exclaimed, setting her sights on the youngest Takishima Group heir. "You certainly must be a lucky little boy to have your older sister take you out like this." She cocked her head slightly to the right in an adorable fashion and flashed an innocent smile.

"Actually, she's my servant," Sui smugly replied.

Hikari lunged across the table to wipe off the Takishima trademark grin from his face. They quickly became the center of attention as other customers watched in shock, amusement, and wonder at how Sui's cheeks could withstand that much amount of pulling. The poor waitress, who was visibly shaken by the sudden commotion, quickly scurried back to the kitchen. She mentally reminded herself not to strike up idle chit-chat with anymore customers for the rest of the day.

* * *

"Huh? Hikari?"

Akira Toudou stopped to gaze into the window of the new smoothie place that everyone was raving about. She was positive that she had just saw her best friend inside, but because of the massive amount of people moving around, she couldn't get a better look to make sure.

"What is it?" asked a massive pile of shopping bags. They instantly fell to the ground like bird droppings as Tadashi Karino emerged in their place. He heavily panted and tried to catch his breath as he stood at Akira's side. He had finally managed to catch up to her after being left behind with the responsibility of carrying everything she had bought so far on their shopping date. And it really was a hefty amount of bags.

If shopping were to ever be in the Olympics, Akira would easily bring home the gold each time.

"I thought I just saw Hikari in there, but I think she was with Sui."

"Heh? Kei's younger brother?" Tadashi whistled a low descending tune and then gave his girlfriend one of his cheesy smiles. "Maybe Hikari's trapped in a love triangle with Kei and Sui-_GAWK_!"

Akira brutally slammed Tadashi's face into the glass window with her foot and started growling.

"How dare you talk about Hikari like that! There's no way my precious Hikari would play between those two annoying jerks!"

Tadashi could only whimper out apologizes as one of the café's waitresses walked up to them.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but we just washed our windows."

* * *

A different waitress finally arrived to Hikari's table with the smoothies, and then quickly ran off just like the one before her. Hikari anxiously took a sip and nearly died from its goodness.

"It's like an island paradise in my mouth!"

Sui faintly smiled at her reaction before taking a sip of his own drink. If he thought that the action went unnoticed, he was terribly wrong.

"Sui, how did you know that I liked mango and pineapples?" Hikari asked.

The little blonde jumped again for what seemed like the billionth time that day. He was pretty certain he had knocked off about ten years on his life meter.

"Nii-chan mentioned it once," he grumbled. Hikari felt her breath catch in the back of her throat. "Sometimes he'll randomly bring up silly facts about you." Sui crossed his arms stubbornly at the thought of his lovely brother wasting his precious time thinking about his girlfriend who would never be any match to him.

"I don't know why he would go through the trouble of thinking such stupid things, but Nii-chan says your silliness is…" His nose scrunched up in disgust. "Cute."

She could feel her face heating up. As much as Hikari felt embarrassed hearing how Takishima easily talked about her, it also made her feel very happy. Takishima always had a way of making her feel that certain feeling, and it only made her want to see him right away. She suddenly felt saddened by the fact that she hadn't seen him for about a week now. He was currently in France accompanying his father on a business trip. He had sent her a message a couple of days ago stating that he would be coming home soon, but apparently soon wasn't soon enough.

"Hey," Sui said, shaking Hikari from her thoughts. "Don't you think you should start teaching me all about dating now? I've already wasted my entire morning with you and I feel like I haven't learned a single thing. Although, I kind of expected that." He mumbled the last part.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Sui waited patiently for Hikari to start. But to be honest, she didn't even know where to begin.

_Okay, so we made it to the "location" where the dating activity should take place, so what to do after this? Come on, Hikari! Think! Think!_

She glanced around the café, looking for a sign of some sort to give her some help. There was a couple preparing to kiss in the corner over there.

_No way! That's not for little kids!_

She looked towards the entrance and saw a couple walk in holding hands.

_Hmm. That seems innocent enough, but I'll save that for a later lesson. What I need is something simple and easy. Something like…_

She gazed down at her drink. "Aha!" She snapped her fingers. "Compliments!" Sui simply gave her a weird look.

"The first thing you need to know is how to compliment!"

"Compliment? That's easy. I thought you were going to teach me something more advanced than that."

Hikari's body began to shake in frustration. "Okay, tough guy. If it's that easy for you, then compliment me."

"What?!" Sui choked on his drink and gave her a disgusted look. "How can I compliment you when there's nothing to-" He shut his mouth to stop himself from what he was about to say when he saw a pair of menacing looking hands inching towards his throat.

"You first!" he quickly shouted.

The dark Hikari disappeared, leaving a confused one sitting in her place. "Me?"

Sui tiredly rested his cheek against his palm. "Give me an example first. So, I know how it's supposed to be done."

Hikari stared at the little boy wondering what exactly she could compliment him on too. Everything about him drove her crazy. It was almost like hanging around Takishima, only this was his more annoying chibi version. She began to wonder if this was how Takishima was like when he was Sui's age. They looked just like each other. The same sly grin, same light brown eyes, same hair with the same cowlicks on top.

Cowlicks?

Hikari looked at the top of Sui's head to see two strands of hair sticking out in an awkward fashion. It was exactly like Takishima's. She often found herself gazing at them whenever she was alone with him. The way they seemed to defy gravity always fascinated her.

"I really like your cowlicks." She said pleasantly.

Sui's eyebrows pinched the center of his forehead as he replayed what she just said in his head.

"Huh?"

"Your cowlicks." She said again, tilting her head slightly. "It's very interesting. In fact, on certain days, they make you look like you've got a pair of devil horns on your head." Hikari said all of this with pure sincerity.

The youngest Takishima felt his face slowly dripping into a puddle on the table. "That's the best example that you could think of?" he gurgled.

The black haired girl before him froze for a split second. Then she panicked by waving her hands frantically in defense. "I-It's just that, it reminds me so much of your brother and how he looks like he has devil horns too, depending on his mood. Sometimes my eyes unconsciously look at them because I find them rather cute and-"

"It's okay."

Hikari stopped her rant when she heard him butt in. Sui leaned against the table and rested his head against his fist as he gazed out the window. His cool expression suddenly gave her a familiar feeling of calmness.

"I think I understand what you're saying." There was minute pause before he continued. "You really like my brother, don't you?"

At this point, she knew she was blushing, but she wasn't the least bit ashamed.

"Yes," she smiled. "I do."

Sui wasn't a fool. He knew that Hikari's compliment was really intended for his brother. He could tell by the way that she was looking at him. She didn't see Sui Takishima sitting across the table from her. Who she saw was Kei Takishima, her eternal rival and boyfriend. But Sui felt nothing towards it. Everyone liked his older brother. He was used to being looked past at, only to remind people who he was related to based off of his looks. It didn't really bother him anymore.

"Sui," said Hikari, breaking his little daydreaming. Sui blinked as she suddenly smiled brightly at him. "Thank you."

He gave her an odd look. "For what?"

"For understanding. You're very kind. Anyone can see that, and I'm sure Kana will too."

A faint blush kissed his cheeks at her compliment. That was the first time anyone had ever told him that. He felt a knot twist in his stomach, a foreign feeling to him, but it quickly untied itself when he smiled back. No matter how anyone perceived it, Hikari was talking directly to him this time. And for once, he wasn't standing within his brother's shadow.

RING RING RING

Hikari blinked at the sudden shrill coming from behind her. She pulled out her cell phone from her back pocket and looked at the caller ID.

"It's Takishima!" She said excitedly.

Sui immediately began to freak out. "Wait, Hikari!" He tried to reach for her across the table, but she had already flipped open her phone to answer.

"Takishima! Are things going well in Paris?" she eagerly asked.

"_Yeah. I just finished up my last meeting. I should be returning to Japan tomorrow._"

An enormous smile covered nearly half of Hikari's face upon hearing his news. She was going to have to meet him as soon as he got off his plane. If it weren't for the happy situation, she would have slapped herself for getting this giddy over him.

She began to open her mouth to ask what time his flight would arrive when she noticed Sui frantically waving at her in desperation to get her attention.

"What is it?"

He started to whisper something, but Hikari heard none of it. He was shaking his head back and forth so fast that his words were blown away.

"_Hikari, what are you doing?_"

"I'm just-"

"Don't tell him anything!" Sui whispered loudly this time.

"_Who was that?_" She could hear the annoyance in his voice. Uh oh, this was bad. If she didn't do something quick, Takishima would surely get suspicious of her.

"Uh, who was what? What are you talking about? I didn't hear anything. Takishima you must be hearing things," she said with a nervous laugh. Sui was sitting on the edge of his seat, pleading her with his eyes to end the phone call. She searched around the café to find something to distract the conversation.

At that same time, a certain _thing_ emerged from the back. It was getting off its break and with great hesitation, heading back to its work station.

"_Hikari, just what are you-_"

"A giant talking orange!" she screamed. People sitting at the tables nearby stared at her sudden outburst. Sui silently slid down his seat and disappeared under the table.

"It's so strange looking that I want to, uh…punch it!"

The fruit mascot heard this. He took one look at Hikari's table, turned around, and ran straight back into the break room.

"_Hikari-_"

"Gotta go! Bye!" And with that, she quickly shut her phone. She let out a huge sigh of relief, thinking she had just came up with the most genius plan ever to solve her problem.

By now, the entire café, including the employees, were giving strange looks directed towards the black haired woman who suddenly challenged the poor orange mascot to a fight. But Hikari paid no attention to any of them as she wondered what happened to her little companion.

"Sui?"

She didn't have to ask any further when she felt him grab onto her hand and drag her towards the exit of the café. Sui roughly threw a couple of bills down at the register before walking out the door.

"Are you stupid?" asked Sui once they reached the next block. He refused to let Hikari go until they were far enough away from creating another outrageous scene. "Nii-chan will definitely suspect something now!"

"Why can't we tell him about this?" Hikari asked as he continued to drag her along.

"Yahiro Nii-chan said not to."

Hikari planted her feet straight into the ground. This had Sui flying backwards by the sudden stop of the heavier force. She placed a hand on the top of his head and twisted his body around to face her, as if turning the cold water on in the faucet.

"Why would he say that?" she slowly asked with an evil glare.

Sui merely shrugged. "He said it would make things more fun, especially for Nii-chan."

Images of Yahiro's menacing smile circled around her face. She could practically hear his evil laughter ringing in her head.

_I'm going to kill that Yahiro the next time I see him!_

A beeping sound pulled Hikari out of her evil planning to destroy the pink haired menace. She glanced down as Sui pulled back his sleeve to turn off the alarm on his fancy sports watch.

"Time to go back home. I have some school work that I still need to finish," Sui said with what Hikari perceived to be disappointment. And without even a goodbye, the little boy turned to head back to the Takishima mansion.

"Wait, Sui!" Hikari called out to the retreating figure.

"What is it?" he asked, turning back around.

Hikari smiled. "Thank you for the smoothie."

Sui suddenly felt very warm. He looked down at his feet to hide the embarrassment on his face.

"I figured I'd just practice what I would do if I ever took Kana out." Then he threw an accusing finger at her, his face as red as Ronald McDonald's hair. "So don't go thinking it was anything more than that!"

He felt a hand gently place itself on his shoulder. He gasped in surprise as he lifted his head to meet Hikari's gentle eyes. For a moment he wondered what his brother thought of whenever he gazed into her spirited, raven colored orbs.

"We'll find a way to get Kana to notice you. I promise." Hikari winked as if to seal the deal.

Sui shyly nodded in agreement before the two finally parted for the time being, promising to continue on with the lesson the following day.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a totally different part of the world, Kei Takishima's left eye continued to twitch in annoyance as he glared at the empty screen on his cell phone. He could see his angry reflection through the clear black frame. It had been more than ten minutes since Hikari abruptly hung up on him, yet he still couldn't bring himself to sit down and put the phone away.

There was a constant pounding sensation against his skull, as if the Hunchback of Notre Dame was ringing the bells of distress in his brain. There could only be one cause to his sudden headache, and it wasn't the Escargot dish he had not too long ago. No, it was something far worse than that.

Hikari was hiding something from him, which meant she was up to no good.

Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Special A.

**AN:** I just wanted to take a moment to thank all the readers who have been following along with this story. This is my first S.A. fic, so I really appreciate all of you for taking the time to read it. I hope everyone is enjoying it so far!

**Dating 101**

**Chapter 3**

Hikari tapped the end of her pencil against the finely finished wood table in a short, strict tempo. It was almost like she was mimicking the silent clock hanging on the wall adjacent from her, ticking each and every second as it passed by. Her cheek rested comfortably in her open palm while she lazily gazed at the sheet of paper in front of her. A soft sigh escaped her lips.

"Hmm," she said.

She placed her pencil in-between her nose and upper lip, pouting to keep its balance, like a wild lion on top of a giant rubber ball in a circus act. Crossing her arms and closing her eyes, she leaned back into the leather office style chair, completely in her mediation mode.

"Hmm," she said.

She stayed like that as time continued to stroll along. Her breaths came in and out evenly, like a serene wind breezing through an open forest. From an imprudent mind, she would have seemed to be taking a nap in the most awkward position. But to those who were sharper, it was obvious to see that she was in deep thought. She was like a ninja on a coffee break; senses still keen to the environment around, and yet the mind was at peace to indulge in some "free" time.

"Hmm," she said.

And then she suddenly opened her eyes. The clearness of day and night reflected within her raven colored orbs. It was as if she had just figured out the answer to all of life's mysteries.

"That's it!" she exclaimed, snapping her fingers. Her other hand skillfully caught the pencil just as it rolled off her lip and began its decent towards her lap.

Not wasting another precious moment, Hikari hastily leaned forward and began to scribble on the paper. The inner workings of her mind were finally coming to life. Her hand was practically flying with exhilaration across the once blank sheet. She didn't even stop for a moment, afraid that her ideas would become lost if the pencil were to come to a halt.

Once she was finally done, she slammed her pencil down and proudly lifted up her masterpiece towards the light. Her eyes sparkled in amazement.

Three badly drawn stick figures in some sort of manga-styled boxing match graced the paper with its presence. One with long black hair had given a K.O. punch to a pink haired, sly looking guy (although the face drawn on him showed absolutely no signs of his wiliness. It was more like shock with a hint of fright). The next frame depicted the same black haired warrior princess throwing a familiar looking cool headed guy over her shoulder, having him land flat on his back. A pair of dizzy swirls replaced his eyes, and his infamous cowlicks stood straight up in surprise. The last frame had the champion standing on top of the defeated opponents in complete victory. Little sprinkles of confetti showered her from above.

Hikari nodded her head in approval at her drawn out fantasy before putting it off to the side.

"Okay, now back to brainstorming tips to give Sui."

But the sound of the door to the S.A. private study room creaking open stopped the girl from moving any further. Hikari watched as the heads of Megumi and Jun Yamamoto peaked in. Of course, Ryuu Tsuji was not too far behind them.

"Ah, Hikari," smiled Ryuu. "So this is where you were. Are you studying?"

A sheepish grin appeared on her face as she rubbed the back of her head unconsciously. "Eh, sort of. Heh." She replied. "What are you guys doing here? I rarely see you all in the study room."

Now, it was the Three Stooges' turn to return the sheepish grins.

"Ah, well, you see," Ryuu muttered. "Akira just finished serving lunch in the greenhouse, and naturally this is about the time we take our afternoon nap, but Akira and Tadashi seem to be going at it again." Hikari noticed a baby porcupine sitting on top of his head. It seemed to be a bit distressed.

Jun and Megumi walked around the large study table to sit on the other side of Hikari, making themselves comfortable in leather cushioned chairs.

"Yeah, Tadashi mentioned a love triangle of some sort and Akira practically ripped his lips right off this face," said Jun. He gulped uneasily thinking about what they would find once they returned to the S.A. greenhouse.

Megumi began writing on her eraser board and flipped it over to speak her written thoughts.

"It was getting noisy, so we came here for our nap since no one uses this room…except you and Kei," read her board.

Hikari felt her shoulders fall in defeat. Sometimes the truth was sad.

Ryuu placed a chair in-between the twins and settled himself into it. Naturally, the two pushed their chairs as close as they could get to him. Once the chairs were practically meshed together, they leaned their bodies against his larger frame.

"We're not bothering you, are we? We could find another place if you'd like," offered Ryuu, even though three pairs of eyelids slowly began to close in anticipation for their ritual naptime. Even the porcupine had already fallen asleep, curled on top of Ryuu's fashionable hair.

Hikari shook her head. "It's alright. Besides, class starts soon so I should be leaving now anyway."

She stood up from her seat and started placing all her belongings back into her book bag. She was too warped up in making sure her books were stacked up from largest to smallest that she didn't notice her drawing flying out from in-between her notebooks.

"Hmm? What's this?" asked Ryuu as he held up the piece of paper after it landed softly in his lap.

Hikari froze as Jun and Megumi perched themselves on his shoulder to get a better look.

"Ah, t-that," Hikari stuttered nervously. "That's just something I drew to get my mind moving. You know, a little protein to stimulate the brain into thinking mode. I'm in the middle of a uh…project, so I'm just trying to come up with some ideas. Heh heh."

Her body shuddered at the accusing stare Megumi threw at her once she recognized a certain someone in the picture.

"Oh, is that so?" said Ryuu with a humorous tone. Jun laughed out loud.

Hikari anxiously laughed along with them for a brief moment before snatching the paper right out of Ryuu's hands with ninja-like speed.

The green haired animal lover merely brushed off the apprehensive vibe coming from the second ranked S.A. member. "So, what's this project you're working on?"

Hikari's eyes grew wide. She couldn't possibly tell them what she and Sui were doing. The S.A. members were all very close. And by very close, that meant that they had no problem talking to each other…Well, most of the time. And most of the time, things got out when they shouldn't have. And when things got out, people who weren't supposed to know about it suddenly found themselves knowing about it. And when they knew about it, all hell would break loose. And when all hell broke loose, Takishima would get involved. And if Takishima got involved…

The result would be her loss.

Hikari could feel her brain convulsing due to information overload. She had to get out of there quick before she caused any damage!

"Eh, would you look at the time!" she said hastily glancing at her imaginary watch. "I'm going to be late for class! Gotta go! Have a nice nap! Bye!" She shouted before running out the door, shutting it hard behind her.

Ryuu, Jun, Megumi, and the porcupine all looked at each other, blinking their eyes in confusion.

"Hmm," they said (except for the porcupine; he chose to squeak instead). Then they all shrugged their shoulders in unison before settling in against each other and falling asleep.

* * *

Back at the greenhouse World War III was taking place, except the opponent was showing no signs of fighting back. Instead, Team Tadashi was trying desperately to get Team Akira to accept his surrender.

"Please, Akira! Stop!" Tadashi cried, running as far away from the girl as possible. He waved a tattered piece of white cloth (which most like came from his torn up uniform) behind him. His response was a round of expensive tableware firing in his direction like bullets.

"You idiotic monkey!" shouted Akira as she picked up his motorcycle and held it above her head. Tadashi's eyes popped out of his sockets as he watched the very petite woman before him suddenly turn into the Incredible Hulk.

"How many times do I have to tell you to keep your outrageous comments to yourself?" She launched the incredibly heavy bike in her boyfriend's direction.

He quickly scampered out of the way when he saw his bike falling from above him. It blew up within an instant after colliding into the ground. The explosion sent his body hurling into the air. Tadashi could only pray that he would somehow make it out alive as he watched himself land right on top of…

_SMASH_

Akira's table.

"My table!" came his girlfriend's shrill scream.

Tadashi could hear her footsteps approaching from behind him. It reminded him of the sound of death. The kind of death one would hear if they happened to disturb a bear in the middle of its hibernation. The kind of death one would encounter if they were to stumble off a cliff because they weren't paying attention to where they were going. Or the kind of death they would feel when they discovered there was no more food in the pantry.

The fifth ranked S.A. member violently tried to shake the dizziness away and make a run for it.

But, it was too late.

Akira grabbed Tadashi by the neck and began to shake him.

Hard.

"Look at what you did to my beautiful table! I'm going to punish you so hard that "_Bungee_" will become you're new favorite hobby!"

"No, please!" He choked out. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

At that moment, Kei decided to walk through the front doors. It was his first time back in the greenhouse in nearly a week.

Well, what was left of the greenhouse.

He had a deadpan look on his face as he surveyed the area around him. Some trees and plants were uprooted and looked as if they had been casually thrown to the side. Burn marks scuffed up the tiled floor. A fire was softly blazing off towards his right. If he wasn't mistaken (which he never was), there seemed to be a motor in the middle of a fire. He watched a tire lazily roll by in front of him before it lost its momentum and fell on its side with a soft thud.

Oh, it was good to be home.

His ears picked up a couple of voices ahead of him. One seemed to be growling and the other sounded like they were crying. He coolly made his way through the discarded rubble and trees before coming to a halt where the S.A. table and chairs used to be.

He found Akira sitting on top of Tadashi with her hands around his neck, banging his head back and forth on the ground. Akira noticed Kei's figure out of the corner of her eye and stopped the havoc she was pounding on the fool under her.

"Ah, you're back," she said blankly.

"Ke…i." Tadashi managed to croak. He raised his hand shakily off the ground, reaching towards him.

Kei was fairly surprised. He seriously thought the wilderness idiot was dead.

"Where's Hikari?" Kei asked, ignoring everything he just saw as if it never happened.

The anything but lovey-dovey couple looked at each other before looking back at the Takishima heir.

"We haven't really seen her all day." Akira replied.

Tadashi nodded. "Seems like she's busy with something." Akira gave him a dark look.

Kei didn't let the exchange go unnoticed. Something smelled funny, and it wasn't the stench of Tadashi's pride being flush down the toilet. He narrowed his eyes and glared at his fellow classmates that sent shivers down their spines.

"What do you two know?" he asked with a deadly voice. Dark purple flames suddenly emerged around him.

Akira jumped behind her boyfriend for cover as soon as the two stood up in fright, their hair sticking straight up.

"N-Nothing!" replied Tadashi. He could feel something in his skull vibrating. I must have been his teeth that were rattling in a state of panic.

Akira pointed a shaky finger in Kei's direction while still cowering behind Tadashi's shoulder. "Kei, you fool! Why would we know anything?!" she accused, her voice obviously faltering away from the strong hold she was trying to build. "Even if we did, what makes you think we would tell you? Moron!"

The Takishima Group heir's shoulders started to bobble up and down as a deep, evil laugh surfaced forward. Akira and Tadashi clung to each other in a tight bear-hug as they silently prayed for their lives. They yelped once Kei lifted his head up slightly. His hair created a shadow that covered his eyes, but the couple could see the glints of red shining through. His two cowlicks curved upwards, resembling a devil's horns.

"Ho?" said Kei, in what sounded like an amusing growl. "Looks like I have no choice but to force you two comedians to tell me."

Two very girlish screams erupted from deep inside the S.A. greenhouse.

* * *

Once classes were finished, Hikari packed all of her belongings and headed towards the park where she had met Sui the day before. She found him waiting on a bench, casually swinging his feet that barely touched the ground. But as she made her way closer to him, she could see that his body was practically covered with uneasiness.

"What's the matter?" she asked while setting her book bag down.

"Hikari!" he shouted as soon as her rear touched the wooden seat. "We've got a situation!"

"Huh?"

He grabbed a hold of the front of her white S.A. uniform jacket and pulled her closer to him. "I was beaten to the punch!"

"Ehhh?!"

Hikari immediately stood up and began looking around frantically in every direction. "Who was it? Who took you down? Let's go find him!" She started throwing out punches in the air as if she really was hitting someone.

"Not literally, you idiot!" shouted Sui as he gave her his best glare. He wasn't exactly in the mood to put up with her stupidity at the moment.

Hikari stopped and sat back down. "What do you mean?"

Sui's brows pinched the center of his forehead as he tightly grabbed the material of his jeans on his lap. "Today in class, Chitose-kun asked Kana to come over and play at his villa this weekend. I didn't even know he had any interest in Kana!"

Hikari could feel her eyeballs rolling into the back of her head. She knew that without a doubt, Yahiro must have put Chitose up to that.

"So, what happened?"

"Well," Sui's eyes shifted nervously. "I did the only thing I could think of. I pushed Chitose out of the way and asked Kana to come out with me this Saturday instead."

"And what did she say?"

A blush suddenly crept up, completely wiping away any previous notation of anger on his face.

"She said yes."

Hikari's eyes began to sparkle with admiration. Sure, Sui's reaction wasn't exactly the smoothest (totally different if his brother was the one in the situation), but he managed to bring out his strength and fight back.

"Good job, Sui!" she praised as she took a hold of both his hands. Her eyes twinkled with delight. "Way to seize the moment! Now, Kana will surely see the potential in you!"

"But I only have a couple of days for you to teach me _how_ to show her my potential," he replied trying to yank his hands out of her grasp.

"Right!" declared Hikari finally letting go of the youngster's hands. She dug into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She flipped it open, pressed a button, and held it up to her ear.

"We're going to need some help. This sounds like a job for-Hello, Sakura?"

* * *

Sui spent the rest of his day being dragged around by the hands of Hikari and Sakura. Immediately after receiving Hikari's call, Sakura appeared out of nowhere and eagerly agreed to accompany the two on their journey down the yellow brick road to the land of dating. The two girls with an idiotic interpretation of honor, skipped happily down the street while dragging a not so thrilled Sui behind by his collar.

Their stops mainly consisted of visiting various clothing stores (Sakura firmly believed that with the right outfit, the tone of the date would turn towards the right direction instantly) to places of entertainment (she also believed that the right place was an instant win for falling in love). Sui grumbled and complained to his heart's desire, but it was no use. These girls were serious and nothing could stop them. With a miserable face, he tried his best to actually pay attention to the advice he was given while secretly hoping that after this weekend, Kana would still talk to him.

When he finally returned home that night, the sun had already finished its job and retired, allowing the moon to start its work shift. A cool breeze fluttered about that felt refreshing against his little tired out body. He was beginning to realize that whenever he hung around Hikari, all of his energy would quickly diminish. It was almost like a mini laptop watching stupid videos on Youtube non-stop while running only on its battery life.

He let out an exasperated sigh as he hauled himself up the steps and pushed opened the front door. His feet were practically dragging beneath him lethargically. He was welcomed by the home staff as soon as he entered.

"Welcome home, Sui-sama," the maids said as they bowed out of respectfulness for the young master.

Sui merely ignored them as he continued up the staircase and towards his room. He planned on taking a long, hot bath and then jumping straight into bed. Rest was really the only thing on his mind at this point. Even thoughts on Kana would have to wait until he was peacefully dreaming.

"You're home awfully late."

Sui stopped dead in his tracks as his entire body froze. He could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand straight up at the sound of the cool voice coming from behind him. He slowly turned his head around to see his older brother standing not too far away. Kei wore a blank stare as he crossed his arms waiting for a reply.

_Crap,_ Sui thought.

He quickly spun around and rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, I was just out taking a walk around the park to get some fresh air since it's so nice out tonight." He said trying to play it cool.

"Ho, is that so?" inquired his brother with amusement. He raised his eyebrow as he continued to stare as if he could read his mind.

"Yeah! Well, I'm really tired and need to get to bed. Night!" Sui threw over his shoulder as he made a mad dash to his room where he would jump under his covers and hide until Kei left for college.

"Sui," said Kei casually, but with a pinch of caution that had Sui standing still in fright once more.

_Don't give in! Whatever you do, don't give in!_ He chanted in his mind.

"What are you and Hikari up to? You and I both know that you're going to have to come clean eventually." There was a brief pause before he continued.

"Because you couldn't possibly hide something from your older brother."

It really didn't take much for Sui's brother complex to kick in.

"Nii-chan!" he cried as he ran back towards his older brother, clinging onto his waist. "I'm sorry, but Yahiro Nii-chan told me to keep it a secret from you because it would be more fun for you this way and I could only wish for my lovely brother to have some fun so I went along with it." Sui rambled.

Kei listened intently, trying to catch every one of Sui's words as the kid continued to rant on without even taking in some air.

"Besides, I didn't want to bother you with this because I know how busy you usually are, and all I wanted was some advice on how to date. So, I asked Hikari to help me instead, but that stupid woman's knowledge on dating is like a snail addicted to salt. I can't take it anymore!" He finally threw his hands in the air in defeat as his chest heaved up and down in desperation for air.

Kei blinked once before giving a tender, brotherly smile that always made Sui feel at ease. He suddenly felt a lot better about the whole situation. He returned the smile when he felt Kei place a warm hand on top of his head and gently rustle his hair a bit. He loved it when he did that.

"So tell me, Sui. What exactly has Hikari been telling you?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Special A.

**AN: **All that's left after this is the epilogue. Thank you all for reading!

**Dating 101**

**Chapter 4**

Monday quickly turned into Tuesday, Tuesday morphed into Wednesday, and before Hikari knew it, it was already Saturday.

Today was the day of Sui's first date.

She had spent the entire week meeting with Sui when she could to plan out the date. They had decided that meeting up at the park would be a good start. After, Sui would take Kana down to the shopping district for a bit. Then, they could finish the day with a visit to the Children's Museum.

It was a fool proof plan for having the best date ever. Hikari took pride in the amount of effort she put into helping Sui out. But because of all that, she wasn't able to spend much time with her friends in the past week. During school, she skipped out on lunch and tea time everyday to go study in the library. When the other S.A. members questioned her about her behavior, she only apologized, promising to go back to normal the following week. In fact, she was so busy thinking up new ideas for Sui's date that she didn't even notice how Takishima wasn't around.

Hikari pulled back the sleeve of her pink knitted cardigan to look at her watch. She had arrived to the park a little earlier than she needed to. Finding a large tree nearby, she made her way over to sit down. She leaned her back against the tree trunk, trying to shade herself from the sun overhead. It wasn't quite noon yet, but she could already feel little trickles of sweat lazily sliding down her back, lightly damping the back of her white tank top. At least the grass felt cool against the part of her legs that were exposed due to her capri jeans.

She glanced at her watch again to double check the time.

_Sui should be arriving about now,_ she thought.

"Alright," she said clenching her fists with excitement. "Time to begin Operation: Watching over Sui's Date with Kana while Behind the Scenes!"

She grabbed the binoculars hanging around her neck and looked through them as she poked her head out from behind the tree trunk. She began to observe all the people nearby. Everything seemed to be normal. People were everywhere doing all sorts of activities since it was a fine day. She continued moving her head, scanning the area until a pair of suspicious light brown eyes appeared in her vision.

Hikari yelped and fell backwards as Sui gave her an annoyed look.

"You stand out a lot when you do that, you stupid woman," he said crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently.

She was preparing to strangle him when she recognized the outfit that Sakura had picked out for him. He wore a crisp, short sleeved, dark green dress shirt unbuttoned to reveal a plain black T-shirt underneath. His khaki slacks were gently pressed to perfection. Even his brown shoes were scrubbed clean, leaving no trace of ever displaying dirt or grass stains. In a way, the boy suddenly looked a little more like a man.

"Wow, Sui! You look so nice!" Hikari was beaming with delight.

The youngest Takishima suddenly reddened as he glared at her. "D-Don't say that!" But then he quickly looked away in a shy manner. "You really think it looks okay?"

Hikari laughed. "I'm sure Kana will think you look great too!"

Sui smiled at her response. He turned his head back towards her, debating on whether or not he should give his thanks when he saw a figure approaching over her shoulder.

"What is it?" Hikari asked when she heard him gasp.

"Kana's coming! Quick! Hide!"

With as much power he could muster up, Sui pushed Hikari into a bush and pressed her head down.

"Remember, you're only here just in case I need some help. Don't get too close to me!" he frantically whispered as he watched his schoolmate walking closer and closer.

Hikari winked the best she could as leaves and twigs fell from her hair and into her face. "Don't worry. Things will be fine as long as you follow the plan."

She noticed a change in Sui's expression as soon as she said that. It looked as if it was a flash of guilt?

"What's wrong?"

"Sui-kun!" rang a small, cute voice not too far away.

"Kana-chan!" Sui replied as he ran off to greet her, pushing Hikari down once more.

She pulled herself back up and blew a leaf away that had fluttered down to settle on her nose. Removing a few more twigs that were stuck on her cardigan, she dusted herself off, picked up her binoculars, and peaked through an opening in the bushes.

Kana was very cute from what Hikari could see. She had wavy light brown hair that reached down to the base of her neck, curling slightly at the tips. A red headband allowed only her bangs to gently caress her forehead. Her skin was fair, making the yellow dress she wore look as if it was radiating off her body in an adorable fashion. Everything about the girl was-

"Kawaii!" squealed Hikari, but she quickly covered her mouth, trying to keep quiet. Thankfully, Sui and Kana must not have heard her as they paid no attention to her sudden outburst and continued to chat casually.

A dopey looking grin slowly appeared to take over Sui's face. Hikari silently wished she had a camera so she could get a snap shot of his expression to tease him with later on.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly. She couldn't hear anything they were talking about, but from what she could see through her binoculars, they were having a nice chat. Not once had Kana dropped the bright smile on her face since she first got there. Even Sui looked like he was in great spirits. Of course, the pink was still evident on his cheeks.

Yes, everything was going according to plan. Hikari was going to make sure that this date would finish with the best possible ending. There was absolutely nothing that could ruin-

"What are you doing?"

Hikari's skeleton jumped right out of her skin. Her binoculars went flying out of her hand, along with her spirit as it flew up towards the sky.

"Tak-Tak-Takishima?!"

And there _it_ was. The one thing that could turn any situation around.

Kei stood above Hikari, glowering down at her with a raised eyebrow. He crossed his arms as he gave her one of his annoyed looks.

"Wha-What are you doing here?!" she asked in disbelief.

"I was going to ask you the same question," Kei growled, his temple pulsing. "Hikari, what in the world are you-_Ooof_" His interrogation was cut short as she got a hold of his shirt and pulled him down beside her in the bushes.

"Hikari! What the-" This time a warm hand clamped his mouth shut.

"Shhh!" Hikari hissed once she finally removed her hand from his face. "We can't let them hear us!"

"Who's '_them_'?" Kei whispered this time.

Suddenly, Hikari felt like a cat caught with a hairball stuck in its throat. That's right! Takishima wasn't supposed to know anything about this! If she didn't think of something quick, she might as well have Sakura beat her up for dishonoring the loyalty code!

"Oya?" said Kei, bringing his girlfriend out of her trance. "There's Sui, but who's that with him?"

Hikari started to sweat like a fat person crossing the street. "That's not Sui!" Kei turned to give her a weird look that basically said, 'You think I don't know my own brother?'

"It's not!" she repeated while waving her hands crazily in front of herself. "That's his, uh, evil twin!" A sweat drop covered the back of her head as she watched her boyfriend look at her blankly. He didn't even blink.

"Evil…twin." He responded with a statement that had Hikari kicking herself for her own stupidity. Seriously, this guy was always making her life difficult. He had a knack for appearing at the worst times and it was really getting on her nerves. Even Harry Potter was nothing compared to Kei Takishima. Why couldn't he just go away?

Before she could continue with her list on the things he did to annoy her, Kei spoke up once more.

"Looks like Sui's evil twin and his companion are leaving," he said as he watched from the opening in the bushes. Hikari swiftly turned her head around, her long black hair whipping Kei in the face in the process. He fell backwards holding his eye in pain, allowing her more room to get a better look.

_Sui must be heading towards the next location. I've gotta follow him, but how can I do that without making it look suspicious to Takishima since I know he's going to be following me now?_

She snapped her fingers as a light bulb above her head clicked on.

"Takishima-kun," she purred in her best girly voice, completely ignoring the fact that one of his eyes was slightly pink and puffy. "Let's go on a date!"

At least his eye wasn't stinging as badly now. This permitted him to give her an odd look at the sudden change in her behavior. But that quickly disappeared as a smile replaced his previous expression and he nodded his head in agreement. Before he could say anything else, Hikari grabbed a hold of his hand and yanked him off the ground, taking off running towards the shopping district.

* * *

Kei had to admit. He mentally jumped for joy when Hikari asked him to go on a date. After all, he hadn't seen her for nearly two weeks now, and all he wanted to do was spend some time with her.

But sitting at a table in the farthest corner in the back of a crowded smoothie shop with his younger brother's supposedly _evil twin_ sitting at the other end of the shop with a girl wasn't exactly what he had in mind.

He grumpily looked across the table at his girlfriend. Actually, it was more like the front and back covers of the menu since she seemed to be hiding somewhere behind it. Kei's large broad shoulders dropped disappointedly as he sighed. Hikari was too caught up with the younger couple across the room to even notice.

Sui and Kana were chatting away happily. They only stopped to give their order to the waitress when she came by. Hikari was pleased with how things were going so far (despite the sulking figure sitting across from her). The only thing she couldn't understand was why Sui decided to come back to the same café that he and herself went to last week. From what she could remember, he didn't really seem to like the place all that much.

"Hikari?" Kei asked. She jumped before poking her head out from the top of the menu. For a second, she forgot he was even there.

"Yes?" She gave him her best innocent smile that her guilty conscious could give. She felt as if a rock was sitting in the pit of her stomach.

Kei didn't say anything for a moment. He just watched her with a look of curiosity. It made Hikari feel self-conscious, like he was reading her thoughts. Knowing him, he probably was but she couldn't give up that easily. She wasn't stupid. She knew that he was suspecting her to be up to something. The only thing she could do now was try to distract him enough where he wouldn't question her. After all, he always had a way of making her crack.

"Have you decided on what to order?" he asked smiling, leaning his head against his palm. A wave of relief washed over her.

_Okay, just play it cool,_ She thought.

"No, not yet." Hikari cutely tapped her finger against her chin as she pretended to think. "I don't know what to get. What do you think?"

Kei said nothing as he continued to gaze at her, this time with a look of affection. Seconds ticked by and he still didn't answer her.

"What is it?" Hikari finally asked feeling a little freaked out.

Kei's smile got even wider as his eyes twinkled. "I was just thinking how cute Hikari looked just now."

Hikari almost fell out of her chair in shock. "Where did that come from?!" She cried waving her arms around hysterically. He only chuckled in return. Damn him for always trying to one-up her!

A waitress finally came to their table asking for their orders. Hikari was still shaking and blushing furiously that she paid no attention to what Kei had ordered for them. Instead, she tried to clear her mind by returning her focus to the matter at hand.

Another waitress had just delivered Sui and Kana's order. Hikari watched the waitress exchange a few words with the kids that left them both blushing and looking away from each other. Hikari could only imagine it being a comment on how cute they looked. If that was the case, she would have to full heartily agree. She watched as they both took a sip of their smoothies and then reach over to grab a napkin from the pile that the waitress left behind. Their fingers gently brushed against each others, and just as quick as they touched, they pulled them apart with such lightning like speed. This caused them both to start turning an even darker shade of red.

They awkwardly avoided eye contact for awhile until Kana finally started talking again. It didn't take very long for the two to get the conversation flowing like it was before. It blew Hikari's mind at how young they were, yet the chemistry between them felt so mature. She couldn't even compare her relationship with Takishima with theirs.

Speaking of Takishima, she suddenly felt something rubbing softly against her left shoe underneath the table. It felt hard, leathery, and expensive. And she was talking about the designer label kind of expensive.

"Just what are you doing?" she questioned him with a grim expression.

"What are you talking about?" Kei asked innocently.

"You know what I'm talking about!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Hikari fumed with aggravation as the idiot in front of her continued to play dumb. He only continued to smile at her with his cheek still resting against his palm. It was as if his outside persona was covering up the wickedness inside of him.

Kei slyly picked up his previous activity once more as she felt his shoe rubbing back and forth against hers again. But this time, it was a little closer than before. She could feel his jeans gently grazing her bare ankles. Hikari squealed in fright and threw an accusing finger in her boyfriend's face.

"Stop it right now, Takishima!"

"Stop what?"

"You know what!"

"I don't know what."

Okay, now he was just messing with her. Hikari felt the tension building up inside of her become so powerful that she finally lost the battle of holding it in.

"Stop playing footsies with me!" she shouted.

All movement and noise came to a sudden halt as every pair of eyes in the room looked towards the back of the café. Even the young couple up front turned around to see what the commotion was all about, except one of them turned bright red with anger and quickly looked away, pretending not to care.

Hikari laughed nervously as she sat back down and buried her red face in her arms on the table. This was turning out to be the date from hell, and it originally wasn't even supposed to be her date!

Everyone slowly started to go back to their own lives. The sounds of chatter and silverware clanking against each other filled Hikari's scarlet colored ears. Kei only watched her in amusement.

"Ho, since when did you become so open about what we do in our relationship?" He asked coolly.

Hikari lifted her head slightly to give him an evil look. "How can you say that so calmly?"

"Say what?"

"UGH!" She threw her hands up and let her head drop back down onto the table with a loud thunk. The waitress decided to pick that time to finally drop off their order.

"Here you go. Enjoy!" she giggled before heading towards another table.

Tiredly, Hikari lifted her head once more, hoping to replenish her strength with a nice gulp of her-

"What's this?" she asked. Her eye started twitching feverishly.

A giant pineapple sat in the middle of the table. The top was chopped off and the insides were completely dug out. The smoothie part was poured into the hollow body serving as a cup. Two colorful bendy straws were dipped inside it along with two little umbrellas to top off its festiveness.

"It's the Couple's Special!" Kei announced from the other end.

"I see," Hikari croaked. This was not the time to be worrying about her date. She was supposed to be keeping a careful eye on Sui's!

"Let's take the first sip together. I even ordered your favorite; mango-pineapple."

Hikari gasped and gazed into her boyfriends loving smile. She could hear Sui's voice playing in her mind.

"_Nii-chan mentioned it once… Sometimes he'll randomly bring up silly facts about you."_

A small smile unconsciously crept onto her face. She could feel her cheeks getting slightly warmer. She no longer felt as if something heavy was left at the base of her stomach. Instead, she could feel the wings of butterflies fluttering around. Why did Takishima always have this effect on her? Whether he knew it or not, he could always make her feel very happy.

"Hikari?"

Reality came back into focus once she heard the concern in his voice. She looked up to see the worry in his beautiful eyes. "Is everything alright?"

She didn't know what came over her, but subconsciously she allowed her foot to lightly brush against his. Kei's eyes widened a little by surprise as she wrapped one of her ankles around his.

"Yes," she said nodding her head. She flashed him one of her honest smiles. "Everything is always alright when I'm with Takishima."

Kei felt his body instantly relax upon hearing her response. He returned her expression with a kind smile of his own. "I'm glad."

All was good and sweet in Hikari's little world until a crash from behind her brought everything tumbling down.

A waiter was lying on the ground. His tray of pastries and drinks were sprawled out all over the floor. He brought himself up into a sitting position as he rubbed a sore spot on his forehead.

"Sorry," the waiter said groaning as he pulled himself up to his feet. He looked towards the person he collided with. "Are you alright?"

But the person was far from alright. In fact, the person completely ignored the waiter, choosing to shake in fear instead. His big googley eyes bounced around crazily. His incredibly thin legs were quivering so badly that one could only wonder how he managed to support his large, round orange body.

"Y-You!" stammered the giant orange man as he pointed a shaky finger at Hikari. "You're the one from before with that other guy!"

Obviously, the fruit's memory was a little hazy since Sui would normally be classified as a _kid_. Nonetheless, Kei gave a dark look at the mention of '_other guy_'.

All eyes were on Hikari once again. She jumped back in surprise at recognizing the silly mascot. If it weren't for her given situation, she would have burst out laughing. Seriously, it wasn't every day you had a talking orange so frightened of you that he was practically wetting himself with a different kind of orange juice.

Hikari nervously waved back at him because she wasn't exactly sure what else to do. "Hi, Orange-kun."

Orange-kun paled and slowly started backing away. Hikari watched in confusion. What she didn't know was that from behind her, Kei was giving the fruit an evil glare while smashing his fist into the palm of his other hand.

Out of nowhere, the mascot gave a girlish scream as he jumped into the arms of the waiter he ran into not too long ago. The waiter himself almost stumbled backwards again trying to support the thing that was about ten times his size around. People nearby slowly began backing away from the psychotic fruit. One could never be too careful around those.

Hikari started to rise from her seat to check and see if the man was okay, but stopped once he started talking again.

"S-Stay back! Don't come any closer! I don't want to get punched!"

And quicker than someone could say "Fresh fruit on sale", the orange jumped out of the waiter's arms, and dashed out the door screaming. A little bell chimed as soon as the door closed behind him.

Heads turned back towards Hikari once Orange-kun had completely disappeared from the shop's windows, but that was the least bit of worry on her mind. She was freaking out by the dark presence she could feel behind her. She turned around and yelped at Kei's evil aura that was slowly starting to devour the entire room. Even flowers on the other tables began to shiver in fright before passing away.

"Hikari," he said with a deadly tone. "What was that all about?" He stood up from his chair and took slow steps towards her.

The fierce going woman suddenly felt like a little mouse trapped in a corner. Her head darted to both sides, looking for a way to escape. "Eh, well, about that…"

A frantic chime jingled in her ear. Her eyes instantly followed the source of the sound and noticed Sui quickly dragging a confused looking Kana out the door. She watched their figures through the windows until they could no longer be seen.

"Takishima!" Hikari suddenly shouted. "It's getting too noisy in here. Let's go someplace quieter!"

Before he could say another word, Hikari grabbed his hand and half pulled, half threw him outside, thankful to finally get out of the smoothie shop from hell. She promised herself to never return to the place, even if someone offered to give her a fool proof method to defeating Takishima in exchange.

* * *

"Look at this one Sui-kun!"

Sui walked up to stand beside Kana and glanced up to the picture she was pointing to. It had a deformed looking elephant wearing a dress and silly top hat, balancing on a large red ball while elegantly drinking some tea.

The Children's Museum was just like any other normal museum except for the fact that it was made to appeal to children. Bizarre, silly, and childish art adorned the walls and rooms of the building. Colorful statues were placed sporadically in all directions. Everything seemed to be deformed, morphed, or even just funny shaped. Sui could only imagine that Alice's Wonderland closely resembled this place. There was only one word to describe it: kooky.

He couldn't believe Hikari recommended he bring Kana here. This wasn't exactly his idea of a great place for a date. It was about as tacky as his father's little Sailor Moon outfit that he kept hidden away deep inside his closet where he thought no one would find it. People really did underestimate Sui's abilities to find things that shouldn't be found.

"That's a pretty whacky picture," he critiqued.

"I know! Isn't it silly?" Kana looked back at him and smiled. "This place is so much fun!"

Sui's bored demeanor melted away instantly when he saw her smile at him. Whenever he looked at her, he felt as if a dance was taking place inside his chest. He noticed how the curls at the end of her hair seemed to bounce lively whenever she smiled. Even the sparkles in her brown eyes would glide with excitement. Everything about her seemed to move and exist in some sort of rhythm. Now, if only he could follow her tempo, maybe she would let him dance with her.

Kana pointed to something on the opposite wall from them. "Come on!" She latched herself onto his arm. "Let's go look at that one over there!"

A little startled, Sui let Kana lead him to the next piece of art to check out. A pleased smile appeared on his face.

Okay, maybe this place wasn't so bad after all.

Meanwhile, another couple had just made their way through the front entrance and into the main show room.

Hikari's eyes widen in amazement as she clasped her hands together. She gasped with enthusiasm. The place really was as incredible as people said it was. It was almost like a fun house. There were interesting things to do and look at everywhere.

"Isn't this place amazing, Takishima?" She turned around to ask her companion, but as soon her eyes sought out his frustrated ones, she wished she could take her words back.

"What's wrong?"

"Hikari, why are we here?" he asked while walking up to a statue that closely resembled Yappi the Bunny. He cocked his head to the side and gave it an odd look.

"Well, I did say we should go somewhere quieter, and I thought this would be a great place to go! Besides, I've always wanted to come here!" She threw the last part in there to make it sound more convincing, and it must have work since Kei gave her an understanding smile and nod. Good, her plan with Sui was still safe.

Speaking of Sui, she didn't see him or Kana anywhere. There really weren't a lot of people around so the place was kind of dead, with the exception of laughs and whispers here and there from the other guests. Hikari knew the two had to be around here somewhere. She saw them walk in moments before she and Takishima did.

She turned around to search the area behind her. Nope, they weren't there either. Her gaze eventually made a 360 and fell back towards her own date. If she wasn't mistaken, it looked as if he too seemed to be looking for something. His brows gently pinched the center of his forehead as he squinted slightly, looking off into the distance.

"What are you looking for?" She asked out of curiosity.

Kei immediately returned his attention towards his girlfriend. "Nothing, really," he said with a smile. "What do you want to look at first?"

Well, Sui seemed to be doing fine on his own back at the smoothie café (she couldn't exactly say the same for herself), so she didn't feel too alarmed about finding him this instant. Why not try to enjoy herself for a bit?

She pointed to a random picture hanging in a glass case to her right. "Let's look at that one."

Kei nodded and followed closely behind her, his eyes still wandering around.

She couldn't exactly put her finger on it, but there was something oddly familiar about the strange looking rabbit drawn on the canvas. Maybe it was the way its beady black eyes seemed to stare straight into your soul. Its mouth was drawn slightly opened as if it was trying to tell you something, but couldn't bring itself to say it. Its pink fur seemed rough around the edges. But all in all, loneliness was written all over it.

"Hmph, that explains it." Kei said with amusement.

"Huh?" Hikari asked as she blinked in confusion. "What does?"

He pointed to the bronze plate plastered underneath the frame. It read, _"Lonely Rabbit"_. And underneath that in huge letters: _Donated by the Saiga Family_.

Hikari's eyebrows arched upward. Was it just her, or did it seem like Yahiro was following her everywhere?

"Hikari," Kei said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Let's go look at that next."

She was so caught off guard by his sudden move of affection that she said nothing as he led her to a set up with an enormously large Lego replica of downtown Tokyo.

Hikari smiled in amazement at the motorized cars that zipped by on the toy roads. Lights even flickered on and off in the model of Tokyo Tower. Little Lego people adorned the streets. Some were walking down the sidewalks, some occupying the tables outside little restaurants, and some frantically trying to cross major intersections.

"Amazing, isn't it?" her date asked calmly.

Hikari beamed up at him and nodded her head in agreement. "Yup!"

She glanced back to see a little airport with planes ready to take off and land when something finally clicked on in her brain. This was the first time she'd seen Takishima in awhile. She was so wrapped up with Sui's date that she totally forgot about Takishima's return from France. She suddenly felt extremely guilty about wanting to see him so badly and then unconsciously brushing him aside once he finally came home.

Hikari finally allowed herself to stop and really look him. He was watching a Lego version of the Bullet Train. Amusement twinkled in his eyes as he watched it zoom through the city on its mini rail. His long eyelashes looked as if they were gently kissing the skin at the corner of his eyes. A soft smile graced his handsome face. His two cowlicks were faithfully curving upwards. Everything about him just seemed so mellow today, even his clothes. He wore his favorite brown jacket with a white shirt underneath. His jeans were a little frazzled, but he still resembled a celebrity on a casual outing.

Kei Takishima may have left Japan as the heir to the Takishima Group, but it was almost as if he returned as simply Takishima, her number one rival and love.

Feeling her gaze on him, Kei turned towards Hikari and flashed her with one of his brilliant smiles.

"What is it?"

Panicking a bit for getting caught staring, she flushed a light pink. "Nothing, really. It's just that…" Kei waited patiently to hear what she had to say. What was she getting embarrassed about? She had been dating him for almost a year now. There was nothing to be shy for.

Hikari bravely looped her arm through his and smiled up at him, the pink still evident on her cheeks.

"I'm just really happy that you're finally home."

Kei's smile grew warmer, and he tightened the hold of her arm with his. "Me too."

Just then, Hikari's ears picked up a soft giggle and a grunt behind her. She turned around and saw the backs of Sui and Kana. They were looking at an antique teddy bear collection surrounded by a glass case.

"Sui-kun looks just like that brown teddy bear!" cried Kana excitedly as she clasped her hands together.

The brown teddy being referred to had a cute little scowl on its face. It wore a green bow tie and below it were three little black buttons descending towards its bottom. It crossed its arms in an adorable annoyed fashion. Sui took one look at the bear and looked away. His stance mimicked his stuffed animal counterpart.

"I do not," he grumbled, obviously embarrassed by her comparison. But Kana's smile only grew wider as she looked back at him.

"Sure, you do! You're both cute!"

The little blonde boy immediately turned a dark shade of red. In fact, if someone stuck him in front of a plain white background, he'd be the flag of Japan.

"Uh…Thank you…" It was the only response he could think of.

A loud cough in Kei's direction interrupted Hikari's undivided attention on the younger kids. She failed to notice Sui's ears perk up at the disruptive noise too.

"Hikari, I didn't get a chance to say this earlier, but you look very nice today," Kei said out of the blue. He also said this rather loudly too.

She gave him an odd look and was just about to ask him where that came from when she heard a weak voice behind her strangely stand out to her ears.

"Kana-chan, you look...very nice today."

_Heh?_ Hikari thought as she turned her head back around to look at the young couple.

Kana had turned pink and shyly smiled her thanks. Sui was blushing madly and trying to look anywhere but his date's face.

Okay, so he complimented her. That was something that she had taught him to do, but something still felt amiss. Hikari couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she suddenly smelled something fishy. And it wasn't the statue of colorful rotting fish heads to her right.

A warm, soft presence took a hold of her hand and held on tight. Hikari's head whipped down the instant she felt the touch by surprise. Kei was still observing the Lego structure in front of him, showing no concern to the fact that he was suddenly holding her hand. But then Hikari felt his thumb gently rub the side of her hand in a calming gesture.

From an outsider's point of view, the picture Hikari and Kei made was absolutely adorable. But from Hikari's point of view, she was confused beyond her mind.

"Takishima, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Hmm?" His eyes finally left the toy display to gaze at her. "What do you mean? We're just holding hands."

As he said this, his eyes glanced away for a brief second before returning back to her. If Hikari didn't know any better, she'd say he was watching…

Out of the corner of her eye, Hikari saw Sui slowly inch closer and closer to Kana, who was still gazing at the teddy bear collection. Once their shoulders were barely touching, Sui shakily reached for Kana's hand and cupped it with his.

Hikari felt her mouth hit the floor while her eyes popped out of her sockets. That was totally not part of the game plan! Physical interaction wasn't mentioned anywhere in her lessons! She made sure of that!

Kana was startled by surprise, but then shyly gave Sui's hand a little squeeze of confidence that gave him the courage to smile a small, but very happy smile.

A little playful tune flew out of the speakers in every corner of the room. As if it were some sort of cue, everyone around looked up towards the source of the sound.

"_Ladies and Gentlemen. The Museum will now be closing in five minutes. We hope you enjoyed your time here today, and please visit us again soon."_

If Hikari still wasn't in shock over Sui's actions, she would have been surprised at how fast time flew by.

"We should get going," said Kei as he led her towards the front entrance. Somewhere along the way he had intertwined his fingers with hers, but Hikari didn't notice. What she did see was Sui and Kana up ahead of them. Sui was also leading his date out, holding hands too.

Time really had flown by. The sun was already setting from what Hikari could see once she walked out the front doors of the museum. From her spot on the sidewalk of the shopping district, she looked out to survey the surroundings. Many families and small children were beginning to make their way home, while the adults started to arrive on the streets to prepare for the nightlife.

She quickly spotted Sui and Kana up ahead, just before a small intersection. They stood there facing each other with an awkward silence filling the spaces between them.

It was time for the finale. It was the good-bye scene. Hikari had already given him the line to use to ensure that the date ended in a complete success.

She quickly ran to duck behind a rather big trash can to get a better look. She had forgotten the fact that her hand was still entwined with Kei's, so whether he wanted to or not, he was forced to hide with her. It was like a dog dragging its master around wherever it pleased.

"It's getting late," Kana finally said, breaking the silence. "I should probably be getting home."

Sui dumbly nodded his head in response. Kana waited awhile longer, obviously hoping for him to say something.

"Thank you for today, Sui-kun. I had a lot of fun!" Her bright, adorable smile seemed to light up the sky.

Again, all Sui could do was nod his head. With a little disappointment displayed on her small face, Kana said good-bye and turned to leave.

"Wa-Wait! Kana-chan!" he finally blurted out. She quickly stopped in her tracks and turned back around.

Sui's face was beet red as he nervously began shifting from foot to foot. "I, uh…Well, um…"

"This is it!" Hikari whispered excitedly from her spot behind the trash can. "This is where he challenges her to a match of strength to see whose feelings are stronger!"

"No, I don't think he's going to do that."

Hikari jumped in surprise, completely oblivious of the fact that her boyfriend was still beside her.

"What?"

Kei shrugged his shoulders. "He's probably going to ask to see her again."

"How would you know?"

"Because I just know."

Hikari stared at Kei in shock, trying to figure out how he would know, while Kei wondered how Hikari could easily stand the smell of the trash can and not gag.

"Kana-chan," Sui said again. "I…I really like spending time with you, so…I was hoping that maybe we could hang out again sometime."

A big metallic _bang_ came from somewhere towards Sui's right, but he and Kana were too engrossed with what was going on between them to notice.

"That is, if you're not too busy or something," he said, starting to trail off.

Kana gazed at Sui with wide eyes as she listened to his proposal. The gap of empty silence started to freak Sui out. A million of thoughts started running through his head at speeds faster than the speed of light, but the scariest one kept reappearing; rejection.

He closed his eyes trying to bear himself for the response he didn't want to hear.

"I'd really like that," said the angelic voice that destroyed all the demons inside.

Sui's eyes flew open just in time to see Kana leaning in. His entire body went into shock as soon as her little lips briefly touched his cheek, but then they were gone just as quick as they appeared. He suddenly felt like a fire was burning inside him with marshmallows being roasted. Its sweet gooiness made him feel like he too was slowly dripping into pleasure.

Kana smiled her good-bye and turned around to leave, leaving Sui standing like an idiot.

Meanwhile, Kei was trying to wake Hikari up after she had knocked herself out by bumping her head against the trash can. He gently shook her shoulders and continued calling her name.

"Hikari? Are you okay?" he asked as he started to panic. "Hikari!"

"Huh? What happened?" she asked once she finally opened her eyes. She could still see dizzy swirls and Yappi's head circling around her everywhere.

Kei sighed a breath of relief as he glared at her. "Honestly, do you enjoy making me worry over you like this?"

Hikari blinked to get her vision back as she stuck her head out from the top of the trash can, completely ignoring his comment.

"What happened? Where's Kana? Why is Sui just standing there like a zombie?"

Kei scratched his head in annoyance. "She agreed to go on another date with Sui, and he's in shock."

"What!?"

"Don't you even think about going into shock too!" he warned.

Just then, a loud cheer broke the dusk sky. Sui jumped in the air in celebration as he cheered once more.

"Alright!" he shouted, before giddily skipping his own way home.

A part of Hikari felt happy for Sui that his date had a happy ending, while the other part of her was angry by the fact that he didn't stick to the script that she had given him. What was the point of all that time they spent practicing this past week. Speaking of which…

"Hey," she said standing up from her crouched position just as Kei did. "How did you know that Sui was going to ask Kana out again?"

Kei nonchalantly looked at her before brushing dirt off his shoulders. "Because I told him to say it."

"Huh?" She said as she cocked her head to the side a bit. Kei gave her the look he always gave her when he wanted to call her an idiot, but not to her face.

And then the flashbacks started: Sui's guilty look before the start of the date, Takishima's somewhat cooperation with their own date, Sui following his older brother's example at the museum, ending the date with a line that Takishima would use.

And then the connection finally clicked.

"You knew this whole time?!" screamed Hikari in disbelief.

Kei simply smiled smugly at her and crossed his arms. "Yeah, Sui told me everything."

Hikari felt her eyeballs roll backwards so that she could see the darkness inside her skull. Sui had betrayed her! The little traitor pleaded with her not to tell anyone about it, and he just went and told the one person he didn't want to know!

_Takishima probably just asked him and Sui sang like a bird!_ She thought bitterly.

But Kei just laughed loudly as he watched his girlfriend grumble about.

"Admit it, Hikari. You're in second place when it comes to giving dating advice."

This time, she felt her eyes pop out.

"That's right," said Kei, nodding his head as if agreeing with himself. "Sui's date was okay when he used the advice that you gave him. But when he copied all the things that I did and took up my suggestions, he had Kana opening up to him."

Hikari's head was spinning. She felt as if she had been tied to the base of a cliff and huge waves from the ocean were pounding down on her. She had been defeated in a challenge she didn't even realize she was in! How could she let herself be so distracted?

"You must really like the number two, huh?" Kei asked casually. "After all, you are Miss Number Two."

"Don't call me Number Two!" she cried hysterically, but he only continued with his playful taunting.

"Maybe that's why you always come in second place in everything." He placed his hand on his chin in a thinking-like fashion.

"What!? Don't get so smug! I _will_ defeat you someday and take first place!"

Completely ignoring her declaration, Kei turned back around to face her. A sly smile graced his features.

"Does that also explain why you seem so intrigued by my cowlicks? Because there are always _two_ of them?"

Hikari felt her body freeze in embarrassment. "He told you about that too!?"

"I told you. Sui told me _everything_," he replied. His fox-like smile never faltered as he slowly advanced closer and closer to her. "I never knew Hikari found the little things about me so irresistible."

"I never said that!"

"But you were thinking it."

Damn Takishima and his mind reading ability!

"So, what else does Hikari like about me?" he asked with amusement. Hikari continued taking one step backwards every time Kei took a step forwards.

"Nothing! That's it!"

"Ho," Kei said as his smile grew. His steps were starting to pick up speed. "Surely, that can't be it. Come on, tell me."

Hikari couldn't take the embarrassment anymore. "Stay away from me!" she shouted as she turned around and took off running down the street. Kei happily went chasing after her as her panicked cries and his joyful laughter echoed into the sunset.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Special A.

**AN:** This is it! It's been a lot of fun writing this. I truly appreciate all the feedback that was given and the time that each one of you all gave up to indulge yourselves in this silly idea of mine. Thank you all for reading!

**Dating 101**

**Chapter 5**

**Epilogue**

It was a beautiful Monday afternoon in the S.A. greenhouse. The sun shined radiantly down from above. The warm temperature could easily persuade anyone to just lie down and take a nap, despite the fact that the S.A. sanctuary was still in recovery. Some of the panels were still missing their glass panes, while others were covered in cracks. Most of the damages due to World War III (also known as Akira's Great War) had finally been repaired thanks to Tadashi, and only Tadashi. Akira demanded that the trouble making boy fix it all by himself, and threatened to reserve the right to withhold tea and snacks from anyone who insisted on helping him.

As a result, the usual S.A. hangout spot was back to its raggedy old self.

"Ah," said Ryuu with a hint of uneasiness as he watched a nearby window shutter swagger a bit before falling towards the ground with a crash. Apparently, the duck tape that was used to hold it up wasn't quite strong enough. "It's nice to see things somewhat back to normal, I suppose."

"Pssh!" Tadashi spat. "If the bear woman had just let me call a real repairman, this place would have been as good as-"

"Who are you calling 'bear woman', you ape?!" screamed Akira as she picked up one of the broken chairs and threw it at Tadashi's head. It ricocheted off his empty skull and went flying into another window, shattering its glass into tiny pieces.

Amount of brain cells left in Tadashi's brain: 0. Number of shattered windows: +1.

Ryuu sighed with what sounded like a sigh of relief as he shook his head lightly. "Yup, things are back to normal." Jun and Megumi, who were faithfully on each side him, looked at each other and smiled in amusement.

Suddenly, the two front doors flew open just as Hikari came strolling in with a smile on her face.

"Hi everyone!" she greeted.

"Ah, Hikari. It feels like it's been awhile since we've last seen you," said Jun.

Megumi quickly scribbled on her beloved eraser broad and lifted it up to reveal her hidden thoughts. "Are you done with your project?" It read.

Hikari instantly froze. That's right; her project was officially over with. Sui's date was done and put to rest. And as she could recall, it didn't exactly end out the way she wanted it to. Thanks to Sui's pathetic inability to hide anything from his brother, Takishima was able to obtain full control of the date, resulting in his victory of giving the better dating advice.

Hot steam came whistling out of Hikari's ears. Clearly, everyone noticed the second ranked S.A. member's body shaking with a might fury since they all took a step back. That is, everyone but Akira.

"Hikari!" the short haired girl cried as she began to cradle her best friend's head in her arms. "Oh my poor, Hikari! Did that monster Kei and his 'mini-me'-like brother give you a hard time this past weekend?"

The girl in question blinked her eyes with confusion. "Eh, how did you know about that, Akira?"

This time the tea loving beauty froze in shock. "Uh, well-"

"We saw you and Sui hanging out a couple weeks back and thought something suspicious was going on," mumbled Tadashi, helping himself to some sweets that Akira had already laid out on the tea table. "Naturally, Kei knew that we knew something and threatened us to tell him what it was that we knew and- _YEEEEEEOOOOOW!_"

Everyone watched with sweat drops forming at the back of their heads as Akira nonchalantly poured boiling hot tea on top of her boyfriend's head.

"You two saw me with Sui?" asked Hikari.

Akira nodded her head with a sense of guilt directed towards her best friend, completely ignoring the fact that the chances of Tadashi ever growing hair back on the spot where she had previously poured her cinnamon tea on where very slim. So much for the tea's calming-like sensation.

"I'm sorry, Hikari. We tried our best not to say anything to Kei, but you know how much of brute that guy can be."

"Who's this brute you're talking about?" asked a cool voice.

"I'm talking about you, you beast!" shouted Akira as she threw an accusing finger in the direction where Kei had just strolled in.

With his hands calmly hidden in his pockets and a smirk on his face, Kei walked further into the greenhouse with his little "mini-me" following close behind him.

"Sui?" Hikari peeped up. "What are you doing here?"

Sui stepped out from behind his brother and approached the black haired women.

"Hikari, I just came to tell you thank you, I suppose," he shot a quick glance at his older brother and watched his head nod for him to go on before he continued. "Even though your dating advice sucked and all, and Nii-chan's advice was way better and probably saved my date with Kana, I guess I'm still supposed to be thankful for your efforts."

Hikari felt as if one of Ryuu's elephants had just tripped and fell on her, and then got up and walked away as if nothing happened.

Victories for Hikari: 0. Victories for Takishima: +1.

"EH?!" came the gasps from each one of the S.A. members, except for Megumi. She opted on quickly scribbling an exclamation mark on her eraser board.

"Hikari! Is that true?!" cried Akira hysterically.

"You were teaching Sui how to date?" asked Jun.

"So, that was the project you were working on, huh?" laughed Ryuu.

"But Hikari, you're not very good at dating yourself," piped in Tadashi before he was assaulted by a very deadly fire extinguisher coming from Akira's direction.

This time, Hikari felt as if Ryuu's elephant had tripped and fell on her again, except this time it also farted and then got up to skip away as if nothing happened.

And we all know how dangerous elephant gas can be.

Kei smirked at the horrified face his girlfriend was making. It only made him want to tease her some more, which is exactly what he always did.

"My goodness," he said thoughtfully. "Perhaps this is some sort of indication proving that you do lack a great amount of experience in the dating field, Miss Number Two."

"Don't call me Number Two!" Hikari shouted. As if Sui's reality check wasn't bad enough, now she had to hear it from her rival.

"I suppose I don't really have a choice. Looks like we're going to have to go on many more dates from now on," said Kei with a huge grin on his face.

Hikari instantly started turning red from her toes to the top of her head. "Wh-What?! Like I'll let that happen!"

"Please prepare yourself, Number Two!" Laughed Kei.

"Kei, you monster!" shouted Akira. "I'm not just going to sit by and let you go on all these dates with my precious Hikari against her will!"

"Hey! Who do you think you're calling a monster? That's my lovely Nii-chan that you're talking about, you creepy lady!" defended Sui.

"Creepy lady!?" she choked.

Tadashi burst out into laughter, but that quickly died away as soon as he saw Akira charging towards him at full speed. Hikari continued to yell at Kei while he merely laughed back. As a way to save Sui from Akira once she was finished with her boyfriend, Ryuu started friendly talk with him. Sui immediately became entranced with his gentle personality that every child and animal loved and clung onto him. Of course, this upset Jun and Megumi who started to close in on Sui from behind.

It was mad chaos, but let's be honest. It wouldn't really be Special A if there wasn't any.

A soft bell chime echoed in the air, signaling the start of the lunch period.

"Maa," Ryuu said gently. "Since it's such a nice day today, why don't we all have lunch outside?" The twins instantly latched onto each of his arms and nodded consistently with hearts spewing around them.

"Nice way of breaking the ice, Ryuu." Tadashi said as he gave two thumbs up with the best effort that his beaten up body would let him.

Akira had already grabbed the lunch cart and began wheeling it out the door. Everyone eagerly followed closely behind her, leaving only Hikari and Kei behind.

"Hey," said Hikari, eyeing the man before her suspiciously. "Were you serious about what you said earlier?"

"About what?"

"About us going on more dates."

Kei's playful and mischievous demeanor melted away into a soft smile. "Only if you'd like to. I would never force anything onto you."

Hikari could clearly see her reflection through his bright light brown orbs. The way he looked at her with his eyelids almost half closed to the point where his long lashes looked as if they were kissing the area around his eyes always left her feeling exposed, but in a good way. It was like her mind was letting her know that he really was only looking at her, and with no one or anything thing else in mind. It was just one of the many things that she loved about him.

And yes, she also loved his two silly cowlicks, but she'd rather die than admit that to him.

Very shyly, she reached out and took a hold of his hands. Taken back, Kei only muttered out her name in concern.

"Hikari?"

"Yes."

Kei blinked. "Huh?"

"Well, I know that you've been traveling and working a lot lately," she said while starting to blush furiously. "And I feel like I hardly get to see you anymore, so…" She started to trail off, so Kei leaned in closer to hear.

"So, yes, I would like to go on more dates with you," she declared, but began to panic as she realized how forward she was being. "That is, only when you're free from work and would like to too." She quickly added.

Hikari bent her head down allowing her hair to flow around her face like a stage curtain. In all honesty, she was hoping it would hide the embarrassment and redness that was clearly written all over it

"Okay." Came his simple response.

She felt his hand gently grasp her chin and tilt her head up to see his smiling face.

"I would love that."

Hikari responded to his answer with a smile of her own just as he started to lean in closer to seal their agreement with his own rendition of a pinky promise that involved lips instead. His hands quickly found her waist and he pulled her in closer. She could feel his breath gently brush against her cheek as she slowly closed her eyes. Without even thinking, her lips pouted just enough in anticipation for one of his sweet kisses.

"Hey!" Tadashi shouted as he walked back through the front doors. Acting upon instinct, Hikari automatically pushed her hands against Kei's chest to send him flying backwards.

"Are you guys coming or…Did I just walk in on something?" The nuisance boy asked nervously.

"Of course not," Kei said sarcastically from his spot on the ground. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Heh, well Akira won't let me eat anything until Hikari eats something first, so you two should hurry up!" Tadashi said as fast as he could before running back out the doors just as quickly as he came in.

Hikari walked over to help her boyfriend up from the ground, but then became more concerned with the disappointment written across his face.

"What's the matter?"

Kei gave an irritated look towards the direction that Tadashi just came from. "I really can't believe that idiot sometimes. He really does have a gift for walking in at the _perfect_ moment," he snorted.

Clearly having no idea what he was referring to, Hikari gave him an innocent look. "If you really wanted to hurry up and eat before Tadashi ate everything then you should have just said something."

Kei felt as if one of Ryuu's kangaroos just came and punched him in the face, leaving behind a massive headache.

And we all know how dangerous a kangaroo's punch can be, especially if it's wearing boxing gloves.

"Hurry up, Takishima!" Hikari called out over her shoulder as she turned to head outside. "We better get to those sandwiches quick!"

But Kei wasn't ready to go down without a fight. Oh no. In fact, he came right back around and knocked out that kangaroo image from his pounding head.

"Ah, that reminds me," he said. "Hikari, I still haven't given you your present."

Obviously caught off guard, Hikari spun back around to face her boyfriend.

"Present? What present?"

"From my trip," replied Kei. Hikari could have sworn she saw an evil, mischievous glint flash across his light brown eyes. That only made her nervous.

"You really didn't have to get me anything, Takishima!" Hikari panicked as she waved her hands defensively in front of her.

This time, a sly smile was left behind on the young heir's facial features.

"Well, I did anyway," he said as he slowly started advancing towards her. "It's called a French kiss."

"Eh?" Warning signals were going off in Hikari's head, but curiosity seemed to get the best of her. "What's a French kiss?"

Like they say; curiosity killed the cat.

Kei stood right in front of her and leaned forward with a wide grin slapped across his face.

"Allow me to show you."


End file.
